You take a look at your planner for the upcoming week and realize that you told your friends you would go to Sushihanna with them on Monday, confirmed with your professor that you would babysit his three kids on Tuesday night, and designated a certain time to drive your roommate to Walmart to pick up the necessities. Then, you remember that your four friends were looking for their fifth Spice Girl this Wednesday night, and you instantly told them you’d do it, along with driving the entire crew to Dunkin the next morning before their classes.
How many times have you said “yes” to things you didn’t really want to do? We know how to say yes, but we don’t know how to say no. Passing up an invite or declining a request can be difficult, especially in today’s social media craze where all events and offers are quick and constant. We’re all wired to avoid conflict and say yes, but when does it start becoming detrimental to your personal and professional success?
Sometimes, you need to put you before anything else. It might sound cliché and obvious when you think about it, but in reality, we’re usually concerned with wanting to be liked and included. For fear of judgment, guilt, and lack of approval, we’re all people pleasers at some point or another, whether we would like to admit it or not. Don’t be afraid to tell people “no” – don’t offer maybe’s or lies. As college students, we’re always looking for ways to beef up our resumes, but if you spread yourself too thing, it’s counterproductive. Don’t involve yourself with clubs, activities, and organizations that you don’t enjoy or find value in.
Life is too short to put all your effort into pleasing others, rather than yourself. You have better things to do than seeing a bad movie, shopping downtown for no reason, or signing yourself up for too many clubs. Don’t let something or someone else dictate your own life. By saying no to the things that we don’t like or have time for, we’re making time and saying yes to the things that are important. When you say no, you’re opening up the opportunity to say yes.